What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-24857?

CVE-2026-24857 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.1%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2026-24857?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2026-24857. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 0.1%.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-24857?

Within 24 hours: Identify all systems running bulk_extractor versions 1.4 and later and restrict their network access. Within 7 days: Disable RAR file processing capability or isolate affected systems from production networks; contact the vendor for patch timeline. Within 30 days: Implement application whitelisting to prevent bulk_extractor execution from untrusted sources and establish a mandatory patch deployment process upon vendor release.

Industrial CVE-2026-24857

CRITICAL

Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122)

2026-01-28 security-advisories@github.com

Denial Of Service Memory Corruption Industrial Bulk Extractor Suse

9.8

CVSS 3.1 · GitHub Advisory

View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

Access

Craft malicious RAR archive
Delivery

Embed RAR in disk image
Exploit

bulk_extractor processes image
Execution

Trigger heap buffer overflow in PPM LZ decoder
Persist

Out-of-bounds write in CopyString
Impact

Memory corruption or code execution

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-122 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components ASVS 5.0 V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking MITRE ATT&CK 1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Exploitation Conditions	bulk_extractor version 1.4 or later processing a disk image containing a specially crafted RAR file with malformed PPM LZ compressed data. Exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction — occurs automatically during forensic analysis of untrusted disk images on default bulk_extractor configurations.
Impact	CVSS 9.8 with PoC. Forensic analysts routinely process untrusted data. A vulnerability in forensic tools is especially dangerous as it can compromise the investigation infrastructure.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A suspect's hard drive contains a crafted RAR file. When a forensic analyst runs bulk_extractor on the disk image, the RAR processing triggers the heap overflow, compromising the forensic workstation and potentially tainting the investigation.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity + public POC available.

No patch listed yet 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

bulk_extractor digital forensics tool starting from version 1.4 has a heap buffer overflow in its embedded unrar code that can be triggered by crafted RAR archives.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)

v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 21:54 CVSS 9.8

Heap overflow in bulk_extractor's unrar enables RCE when processing crafted RAR files.

RemediationAI

Update bulk_extractor. Run forensic tools in isolated VMs to protect investigation infrastructure.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

bulk_extractor's embedded unrar library (since v1.4) has a CWE-122 heap buffer overflow when decompressing RAR archives, exploitable by crafting a malicious RAR file that triggers the overflow during forensic analysis.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

GitHub Advisory PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

SUSE CRITICAL

Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.

CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

PoC Detected

Feb 09, 2026 - 16:47 vuln.today

Public exploit code

CVE Published

Jan 28, 2026 - 22:15 nvd

CRITICAL 9.8

DescriptionGitHub Advisory

bulk_extractor is a digital forensics exploitation tool. Starting in version 1.4, bulk_extractor’s embedded unrar code has a heap‑buffer‑overflow in the RAR PPM LZ decoding path. A crafted RAR inside a disk image causes an out‑of‑bounds write in Unpack::CopyString, leading to a crash under ASAN (and likely a crash or memory corruption in production builds). There's potential for using this for RCE. As of time of publication, no known patches are available.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in bulk_extractor's RAR file handling allows remote code execution through specially crafted RAR archives. Organizations using this forensics tool are at immediate risk of system compromise if processing untrusted RAR files, with no available patch currently.

Business Impact: Severe

Compensating Controls

Disable RAR file decompression in bulk_extractor if not operationally critical; process only trusted/validated RAR files from verified sources; isolate bulk_extractor systems on air-gapped or segmented networks; implement strict input validation to reject suspicious RAR archives; monitor for exploit attempts via EDR/XDR solutions; consider alternative forensics tools without this vulnerability pending patch availability.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.1%

Top 76% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

4 sources

Confidence: Medium

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS Vendor

GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity CRITICAL

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 0.1%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

CRITICAL severity + public POC available

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Out-of-Cycle

Exploitation· derived

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact

Very High

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: 0

CVSS: +49

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Memory Corruption HIGH

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Denial of Service MEDIUM

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.